Adobe Systems Ships OPEN Prepress Workflow Automation System

Seattle, Wash., (August 29, 1995) (Nasdaq: ADBE) -- Adobe Systems
Incorporated today announced that the company is now shipping the Adobe
OPEN automated production workflow environment. As a platform independent
system shell, OPEN integrates and automates many of the tasks associated
with prepress imaging that previously required unconnected stand-alone
applications. High volume prepress operations will benefit from the OPEN
program's modular, server-based architecture in which the production
processes such as trapping, digital imposition and image replacement can
be automated. Prepress professionals can now automate off-the-shelf
prepress software programs without operator intervention in an integrated
computing environment.

"We believe between 25 to 50 percent of the repetitive-type jobs going
through a prepress operation can be automated with OPEN software," said
Eric Bean, product line manager for the Adobe commercial prepress
products. "OPEN provides the integral glue that ties prepress processes
together while giving our customers a head start toward the era of digital
publishing with digital prepress. As we pursue the new worlds of on-demand
printing and high-end imaging systems, OPEN will be the catalyst for
products and technologies to provide open and extensible solutions across
computing platforms."

The prepress stage is the final phase of the print production process in
which color separation and publication assembly take place. The need for
major productivity increases has spawned an emerging market category know
as prepress workflow automation.

How OPEN Works

Adobe OPEN software offers several features designed to take existing
electronic prepress applications and unite them into a complete, automated
prepress system in a networked environment. As a centralized electronic
production manager, OPEN software resides in the center of a prepress
production environment and controls the flow of jobs from one function to
another: providing parameters for a process, executing that process and
then passing the job to the next process in the production workflow.

"OPEN establishes a user-defined, modular approach to production," said Bob
Malecki, product manager for Adobe OPEN software. "It was designed to be a
truly open architecture to provide seamless integration with applications
from multiple vendors. This allows customers to use off-the-shelf
components, overcoming the limitations of proprietary systems."

OPEN program users define what tasks OPEN will perform by setting linked
processes with graphical production templates called Workflow Pipelines.
Through a graphical user interface, users drag and drop icons representing
the different applications to their place in the Pipelines. Each Pipeline
consists of any combination of linked processes and allows users to have
custom settings for each process within the Pipeline. The workflow can
then be set to pause at specific steps for manual operations and to pass
through others using a set of default or defined operational steps. An
unlimited number of Pipelines can be linked together so that workflows can
converge. Other key features include an advanced messaging system that
continuously updates users about the status of their files; error logs and
queues to help manage problem files; and holding "baskets," that pause at
user-specified intervals for operator intervention.

Third-Party Applications

Over 65 progressive electronic prepress and computer companies belong to
the Adobe OPEN Developer Program. Membership in the program gives
third-party firms access to the OPEN Software Developer Kit, which
describes three tiers of OPEN "awareness," or compliancy. Each tier
provides a different level of interaction for the developers to link their
applications to the OPEN system. The companies are at various stages in
the development of their OPEN Aware products.

Pricing and Availability

The Adobe OPEN automated production workflow environment is available
immediately worldwide from Certified Adobe OPEN Prepress Dealers for a
suggested retail price of $4,495 (U.S.).

System Requirements

For maximum system performance, it is recommended that OPEN run on a
dedicated workstation. System specifications for process applications will
vary depending upon the individual application's requirements.

The recommended system configuration for Adobe OPEN software is any Apple
Macintosh Quadra series or greater computer, including Power Macintosh ,
running System 7.5 with 16MB of RAM and 500MB of unused hard drive disk
space. The minimum configuration must include a Macintosh Series II
computer with System 7.1 or later, at least 9MB of RAM available to OPEN,
and a 120MB hard drive.

The OPEN program is compatible with most popular networks, servers and
routers. For more information about Adobe OPEN software or to obtain
information about other Adobe prepress products, customers should call the
Adobe Prepress Group at (800) 685-OPEN. Adobe Systems Incorporated,
founded in 1982, is headquartered in Mountain View, California. Adobe
develops, markets and supports computer software products and technologies
that enable users to create, display, print and communicate electronic
documents. The company licenses its technology to major computer, printing
and publishing suppliers, and markets a line of application software and
type products for authoring visually rich documents. Additionally, the
company markets a line of powerful, but easy to use, products for home and
small business users. Adobe has subsidiaries in Europe and the Pacific Rim
serving a worldwide network of dealers and distributors. Adobe's 1994
revenue was approximately $598 million.
 
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